<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>The Premise of the Silver Sword Tavern by After232</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25842199">The Premise of the Silver Sword Tavern</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/After232/pseuds/After232'>After232</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Silver Sword Tavern [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agarel, Original Work, The Silver Sword Tavern</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Out of Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:42:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>975</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25842199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/After232/pseuds/After232</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff"><p>And now you know the basic premise of the Silver Sword Tavern! This is not really that well-written of a summary, but I did my best to try and explain as much as was needed!</p></div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Silver Sword Tavern [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875136</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Premise of the Silver Sword Tavern</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Silver Sword Tavern, at first glance, seems like any other tavern, a place for refuge along the side of the road for any travellers, wanderers and vagabonds seeking shelter from the elements. A place for one to seek warmth and cover from the storm, and more importantly, safety. It was a stormy night, and many flocked into the tavern to keep themselves dry and to be safeguarded against the howling winds, the ice cold droplets of the rain, and the bright flashes of lightning above. Once within the tavern, some asked for rooms in the inn upstairs, while others talked over drinks in the tavern proper.</p>
<p>But not all is as it seems, as the phantasms of safety disappeared when the doors to the tavern slammed shut. At first, it seemed like an act of the wind. A powerful gale may have pulled the doors shut, preventing anyone from either entering or exiting. Some try to open the doors, but to no avail. They appear to be shut. And somehow, locked. The keys are nowhere to be seen.</p>
<p>A mysterious, hooded, horned figure appears behind the counter, their skin lined with strange purple veins. They walk into the center of the bar area, no one quite so sure what is happening. In a booming voice, they call out, "Welcome, all, to the Silver Sword Tavern!", and they subsequently introduce themselves as the Innkeeper of the establishment.</p>
<p>All the candles in the building burn out. The merrymaking and conversations immediately halt. There is dead silence for a brief moment, before panic starts to rise into everyone's minds. But worry not, all the candles flicker again, and somehow, they are all alight once more. The Innkeeper is no longer there. "Greetings, once again, Innmates," the Innkeeper's voice says, as a dark air passes through the tavern. Some kind of illicit magic. Much like in a prison, everyone was trapped inside.</p>
<p>The first time, the Innkeeper has the innmates play a simple game. Each week, they must sacrifice someone at the altar present within the hidden room underneath the tavern. If they choose not to sacrifice anyone, then the Innkeeper threatens to release a dark spirit that will devour every single person present within the tavern. The deal was simple - one life for the lives of many. All the while, the innmates must figure out how to escape the tavern, while simultaneously not running out of resources to sustain themselves. The Innkeeper's sick, twisted game was now in motion.</p>
<p>This, my friend, was Phase 1.</p>
<p>After the innmates discovered that the trick to escaping was to not sacrifice anyone at all, almost all the innmates were free. Almost. But not Az. She was going to have to return for Phase 2. And then Phase 3 after that. And, finally, for Phase 4, the final phase.</p>
<p>Each phase of the Innkeeper's game involved a different set of innmates, a different set of sick, twisted games, and a different path of escape. Each phase, the innmates would unravel something new about the Innkeeper. This mysterious, sadistic entity. At the end of phase 1, the innmates found that the body of the Innkeeper was merely an elf by the name of Draenah, whose body had been possessed, beaten and used as a puppet by the Innkeeper. In the second phase, it was a pair of twins instead, two tiefling blacksmiths by the names Aoline and Rogue. In the third, a shy human priestess by the name of Kaitlyn. </p>
<p>Each phase, Az's memory was wiped by the Innkeeper's magic, as well as anyone else who dared to return (though only Az ever returned). But in the last phase, everyone's memories were given back to them, and some familiar faces from phases past returned. A reunion of sorts, in the most nightmarish location possible. Az knows almost all there is to know about the Innkeeper. Almost all of its secrets have been unveiled.</p>
<p>In the first phase, the innkeeper deliberately preyed on some of the innmates' deepest fears, surrounding them with some mirages and hallucinations to trick them into believing that their fears were coming to life. This showed that the Innkeeper was capable of powerful magic (as if the magical barriers around the doors and windows weren't enough). Sometimes, when the Innkeeper appeared, every step they took would leave a burnt footprint in the floor, like a red-hot brand, ashes smouldering in the Innkeeper's wake. And when it wasn't singed marks, it was the smell of rotting wood and poison ivy.</p>
<p>The Innkeeper had managed to hold a tight grip on a shadowy wolf-like creature, who they used to threaten the innmates. This shadowy wolf was then revealed to be Azeroth, the God of the Hunt, who had been missing for centuries. The Innkeeper was an entity powerful enough to have crippled a God into doing his bidding. Azeroth could only gain free will at certain times of the day, and did not enjoy being the Innkeeper's "pet".</p>
<p>The innmates also discovered that the walls of the tavern were speaking... as if there was a voice. And there was. The walls of the tavern held a priest named Tornak, a devout follower of Azeroth, who had been imprisoned by the Innkeeper inside the tavern's walls to literally become the tavern. </p>
<p>In the second phase, Azeroth regains his humanoid form, and manages to fight off the Innkeeper's influence. Tornak is able to escape the walls of the tavern and regain his humanity, after 300 years of being stuck as the tavern itself.</p>
<p>There is a lot more that happens after that, but the more I say, the closer the story leans towards Az. Now you are well equipped with the knowledge of the tavern's story. May it serve you well as I tell you the tale of the dryad known as Aziliz.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>And now you know the basic premise of the Silver Sword Tavern! This is not really that well-written of a summary, but I did my best to try and explain as much as was needed!</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>